Jessica Harmon – The 100

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) We are getting to see you on iZombie. What are the other recent projects you are working on?

A) That is taking up most of my time. Next month I’ll be shooting a film and “iZombie.” It’s been such an incredible experience. Not just an opportunity – but an experience. Dan Etheridge, one of our EP’s, directed his first episode and Rose McIver took two hilarious photos of him and had them made into puzzles. It was girls against guys sitting at this table racing to finish these puzzles. It’s such a family on and off screen. We’ll all go out together, cast and crew. It’s a very close family there, which is not something you always get. I joined the show a little later in the game and not being a series regular you never know how the cast is going to be with you and they have been amazing. So, I’m very happy!

Q) I recently wrote an article for Huffington Post on why I actually feel Liv’s character is a superhero.

A) Rose, herself, is a superhero to me. She’s very much a great leader of the entire production. If I had kids, I’d definitely make them watch the show. I know there is a bit of violence and odd moments of sexual innuendos. For me, I’m obsessed with the show because every episode she is an entirely different person and it’s so much fun to watch! To watch a female lead be that strong, capable and play all these different characters leads the way. It’s a wonderful thing! I do think the head of the network is wrong because I do think there are several shows that do have superhero women. It doesn’t mean spandex. It means a strong woman!

Q) With your character Dale, there is a developing relationship with Clive. With “iZombie,” relationships can kind of be collateral damage (especially when it comes to investigating Max Rager). Will Dale be caught in any of the crossfire?

A) That’s a good question. It’s very likely. We haven’t gotten there yet in where we are with what we are shooting. I couldn’t tell you for sure if that is the way it will go down. In my mind, it seems inevitable. With the Chaos Killer, Max and Major, everything that is going on, it will have to blow up at some point. I’m just waiting for when everything falls apart. We’re getting there. Steven Weber is so amazing leading the way for Max Rager and Leanne Lapp is good as Gilda. There are certain things coming up that will be focusing on Max Rager a little more and the problem over there. There are three or four huge things that I can assume are coming up. An inevitable blow up and I would assume Dale Bozzio will be there for at least one episode. I don’t know where my next Rager situation is going to come, but it all comes back to them because they started the zombie apocalypse situation. They are too big at this point so they are going to have to fail. But you never know because maybe they are too big to fail.

Q) With your character, she is an FBI agent. Government agencies kind of tend to have more going on than meets the eye. Does Dale have any other intentions behind her relationship with Clive?

A) That’s a really good question. I don’t know. I’ve guessed different thing. I talked to castmates that thought I was the Chaos Killer at one point and I’d be the bad guy. I thought the episode where Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) had a stalker that maybe she was FBI. We really don’t know. At this point, I wouldn’t say she has ulterior motives. I think she genuinely came to Seattle looking for missing persons and she happened to take a liking to Clive and fall for him. The audience hasn’t seen more than us falling for each other and that being based on romantic interests. In more recent episodes, we focus more on investigating unsolved cases (or cases which seem closed, but should probably be reopened). I don’t have any indication that there will be any other ulterior motives, but like I said you never know. There is room for change and characters change all the time. So, for now, I would like to think Dale is a good soldier and happened to fall in love with Clive.

Q) Will Dale’s relationship with Clive drive any wedges between his relationship with Liv?

A) So far, I don’t believe so. But that is definitely a possibility. Just like the Max Rager thing has to come to a head and the Chaos Killer and the Meet Cute Case has to come to an end, these things have to be blown out of the water. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Clive has to figure out where his loyalties lie. If we were to all find out that there are zombies in the world, I can’t imagine how that is going to effect Clive’s relationship with Liv. I can’t imagine they would always come back together. In terms of my relationship with Clive driving a wedge with his relationship with Liv, so far no. I would only see that happening if he was forced to take sides. Then, he would have to be forced to take sides between Liv and Major (Robert Buckley) or Liv and Ravi (Rahul Kohli) if he finds out what they are doing together. There are a lot of wedges that can be driven between a lot of people. We’re all still friends, but that could be a part of where we are going. It can’t last forever. People are going to find out what is going on beneath the surface.

Q) Now we’re also seeing you in “The 100.” How did the role come about?

A) That was an audition. I auditioned for the show probably three or four times over the three seasons and a lot of times I happened to be auditioning for the director. Dean [White] seemed to take a liking to me early on and I think he was a really big part of me getting on the show. Every time I’d audition for the show he’d go back and tell my brother, “One of these days we’ll get her on the show.” I think it was about finding the right character. Eventually, this season when Niylah came up, I remember getting the audition over the summer and it was a lot of Grounder dialect. I thought, “What the hell is this language and how can I memorize it by tomorrow?” I sat there and did it. I eventually got cast and became a Grounder. I think the Grounder came fairly naturally to me. It took a lot of work to get it right for the episode, but it came fairly well. I just really enjoyed coming up with my own take on the whole thing. I went in feeling very confident. I auditioned with Dean and they loved it. I got a call the next day asking me to come there in two hours. I auditioned again and while I was doing it, Coreen Mayrs (the casting director) sent an email asking me to come back next week. I met with Dean and some guys the following week and got it. It took three auditions to get there, but I got there! I think they liked me and felt I was right for the role. I think they always wanted me to be a part of it because of my connection with Richard. I don’t want to give him all the credit for me being on the show, but I think him being on the show really made them want to bring me in as well.

Q) There was already is so much buzz going around about Niylah and the first episode had not even aired yet!

A) It seems like Niylah has already stirred up a lot of trouble. I think they knew that from the get-go, that it would be kind of a character who would cause people to stop and question who the hell she is. I think they knew it would help if they were able to say, “That’s Richard Harmon’s sister.” Anything I can do to help people get excited about the show, I’ll do what I can.

Q) What did you think watching the sex scene in the trailer?

A) I’ve only seen the trailer where my back is in it and there was a ton of controversy about that. Then, I saw the one where I’m speaking, but you don’t see me. With the one with my back, it’s a great trailer! I got really stoked about seeing the trailer. I had no idea people were going to lose their minds about my back and my back tattoo. I’m fairly new to the whole social media world and people were just coming at me at every direction about, “Is that your back?!” and “Is that you?!” It was really intense and I would never want to lie to the fans. So, initially, I was like, “Wait and see!” There was one photo that was doctored so I was able to say, “no.” At that point, I stopped responding to a lot of them, which I hate to do. I’m a little intimidated by them to be honest. I know they are mostly young girls and I shouldn’t be scared, but they are a bit scary!

Q) Can you talk about the choreography where we see the culmination between Clarke and Niylah? We see them at first timid, but also there is support Niylah provides and they have a connection.

A) I think it is like any relationship that is at its beginning. Especially with Clarke (Eliza Taylor) being Clarke and where she is in the world currently when we start off with season three, I understand her being timid and closed off. That’s where we saw her go at the end of season two. She pretty much had to commit genocide so it makes sense that she would become a bit of a recluse. I would like to attribute it to Niylah (partially) for bringing Clarke out of it in a sense. Niylah is the first person Clarke trusts in the world of season three. She’s the first person that she takes a moment to share a connection and be romantic with (obviously), but to also share a connection on a human level. I think Niylah really admires Clarke and I think is a Clarke follower. If Clarke was Justin Bieber than Niylah is a Belieber. I think she really is there to support her and push her back on the track that she is set to be on. Right now, she’s kind of feral in the woods hanging out when Niylah saves her life and distracts the bountyhounters. It shows Clarke that there are still people in the world that can be trusted and that believe in her and agree with her and side with her. Even when she had to do something catastrophic they still believe in her choice. I think that is really helping to set the tone for the third season. I like that in season three that happens right out of the gate because it kind of brings Clarke back from the dead a little bit in several ways, mentally and sexually. It kind of wakes her up. I think it’s a whole new beginning for Clarke and I am glad Niylah got to be there any way that she could to help with that new beginning.

Q) We kind of see Clarke in this fortress of solitude she has built for herself after the events that happened at Mount Weather. It seems she uses her time with Niylah to keep her humanity and her own identity.

A) Absolutely! Like I said, it’s kind of her way back into the world. I think the timeline is about four months later when we pick back up with season three. So, she’s been in the woods for a long time alone. We see her kill a panther with her bare hands right out of the gate! She found herself a little bit crazy. Just like Murphy was stuck in that thing for so long that he goes a little crazy. I think Clarke went a little nuts out in the woods and probably felt completely alone and maybe thought she’d always be completely alone. And Niylah was there and I think Niylah knew that Clarke needed somebody and needed to use somebody. I think in a sense she used Niylah, but there was sort of an unspoken agreement between the two of them that it was okay. I don’t think Niylah was hurt when Clarke left or anything like that. I think she was true to Clarke to the end. When Bellamy (Bob Morley) and them show up, she didn’t want to tell where Clarke had gone. She didn’t want to tell them what happened because she doesn’t trust anyone to be near Clarke. Rightfully so, too, because there are so many people after her at this point. So, I think that their relationship (even on the sexual side of things) was a reawakening for Clarke and something she needed to push her back on her path. I think it genuinely did help her and I think that’s why they had Niylah around – to push her back on her path.

Q) When it comes to Clarke, there tends to be a bit of a fallout. What kind of retribution might Niylah be facing?

A) A lot! I don’t think too many people in The 100 world are very aware of her connection to Niylah. That’s something that has yet to be seen by myself. But we all know what Clarke brings – the danger Clarke can bring. Everyone around her seems to die. She is not necessarily the greatest person to have in your life due to the fact she seems to be cursed, in a sense. She’s loving and would kill for her friends so you want her on your side, but at the same time having her there just might be the death of you. You really never know. I hope there is not too much retribution. I hope Niylah doesn’t have to die like some other people did to have Clarke’s back. I think if she did die, she might go down willingly.

Q) What makes her so loyal to Clarke?

A) I think genuinely it started with the fact that Clarke (in Niylah’s mind) kind of got some retribution over the fact Niylah’s mother was killed at the mountain. I think that really started her love for Clarke. She knows what happened to the mountain and she knows what happened to her mother at the mountain. I think Niylah is a very loving, caring, supportive and family oriented person. I think when her mother was killed it caused some deep rooted pain (like it would for anyone). Niylah is not really a fighter and we see that in episode two. I don’t think Niylah was ever necessarily going to be a huge fighter in her own mind and I think there was nothing she could really do to get revenge. I think she is the kind of person who would want revenge (in a sense) and couldn’t get it herself. Clarke got it for her. So, of course there is going to be a dedication and devotion to someone else when they kind of give you a piece of your life back. They let you have closure and I think Clarke created closure for Niylah and so Niylah feels indebted to her. I think they end up spending time together from seeing each other at the trading post frequently. And I think that Niylah develops a bit of a fan girl situation for her and she has a deep love for what she has done for her. She has a devotion to Clarke because of it. When you live by yourself (or just with your father) at this trading post in the middle of the woods and then having this person arrive who you admire would make anyone fall in love a little bit. I think there is a deep rooted sense of love that Niylah has for Clarke and she won’t be upset if Clarke goes off. She wouldn’t be mad if she went off or was anyone else, but I think she would follow her to the ends of the earth to have her back.

Q) What do you hope fans take away from your character or the season?

A) There are two aspects of that. I think after episode one I knew they would not particularly like Niylah because they are such a fan of Clexa or Bellarke. I think they don’t want anyone getting in the way of those ships. I think they’ll be upset due to the sexual content and the relationship of Niylah and Clarke. I think they will be okay after they see there might not be longevity to that. I think we’ll have some ups and downs on social media. I think overall what you can take from it, and what I have taken from the show and the character, is that she is just a Clarke supporter. If you don’t like Clarke (which I am sure there are some people) then you are not going to like Niylah. She is there for Clarke, supports her and had her back when Clarke needed the most. I think at the end of the day, if you are a fan of show though that you are a fan of Clarke. If you are a fan of Clarke, you have to be a fan of Niylah because Niylah is a fan of Clarke. Hopefully, she won’t get in too much of the way of Lexa!